EU institutions and the students of Environmental Science Master from Romania

The students of Environmental Science Master from Romania have benefited from a European project of professional practice entitled “European institutions and their role in promoting community policies for the environmental protection”, which was organized by the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography – Masters program Environment Integrated Assessment (EISM – http://eism.weebly.com/), from where most students attended this EU project, in partnership with Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering from Cluj-Napoca, and supported by the European Parliament, which took place in Brussels between September 29 – October 05, 2014.

Established in 2011 and currently reaching the fifth edition, this European project of professional practice in European institutions allowed the students masters of Environmental Science from Romania to develop their knowledge of EU policy in the field of environmental protection, but they also had an opportunity to find out about the role and inner workings of the European Parliament, European Commission, European Council and the Permanent Representation of Romania to the European Union.

The first visit of this practice has taken place in the European Parliament, where they were presented the powers and structures of the European institutions by Mrs. Laura Popa, then the students were directed to the Chamber, where Mrs. Mariana Cosac from European Parliament Visits and Seminars Unit has been granted the Faculty of Geography Honor Medal and the Simion Mehedinți Diploma of Excellence for the special role which she had in the professional development of Faculty of Geography students. The visit of Parlamentarium marked the end of a day that introduced us to the history, culture and institutions of European Union.

The group members visiting the Parlamentarium

(Photos by Alexandru Mihail Popescu)

The second visit took place at the European Commission and was focused on the Environmental policy of the European Union, in a sequence of presentations that have allowed to debate the main topics related to the Environmental protection at European level in the present days. The visit included the following presentations:

“European policy in the field of waste”, Mrs. Madalina Căprușu (Directorate-General for the Environment);

“European policy for research (Horizon 2020 Program)”, Krastio Preslavsky (Directorate-General of Research and Innovation);

The students of EISM (Environment Integrated Assessment) assisting the presentation “Biodiversity Conservation”, Ctibor Kocman (Directorate-General for Environment)at the European Commission

(Photo by Alexandru Mihail Popescu)

The visit to Permanent Representation of Romania to the European Union brought us an understanding of the third European institution, of its role and its avenues of communication with the other EU and national institutions, as presented by Mr. Cristian Bădescu, Deputy permanent representative COREPER I. Mrs. Violeta Dragu, Head of Section, European Environment Agency, demonstrated a series of examples where a series of implementations of EU legislation in Romania has been negotiated by the Permanent Representation of Romania to the European Union. There were also debated problems related to Romania’s representation in the field of Environment protection at EU level and other projects with goals set for 2020, such as circular economy and global climate change.

The group members visiting the EU Council

(Photo by Ștefan Bălăceanu)

The last visit took us to EU Council, where we discussed both issues related to how the institution works and what its role is and also the most important challenges of the EU policies in the field of Environment protection.

Debating problems relating the EU policies in the field of Environment protection

(Photo by Ștefan Bălăceanu)

This European project was a good practice for us because it combined professional, social and touristic activities, leaving us with a better chance for a career in the field of Environment protection. Also the students were encouraged by the EU representatives to apply for internships and jobs within the institutions, increasing their interest and making this opportunity a very “tangible” one.

The European Parliament, through Visits and Seminars Unit, granted both financial and organizational support for this year’s project for European practice for 34 Environment Sciences Master students and teachers from Bucharest University (Faculty of Geography), Cluj-Napoca Babeș-Bolyai University (Environment Engineering and Science Faculty), Cluj-Napoca Technical University (Baia Mare North University Center) and Galați Dunarea de Jos University (Environment and Science Faculty).

This project was possible thanks to University Professor Dr. Cristian Iojă, Director of Regional Geography and Environment Department at Bucharest University (Faculty of Geography) and organizer of the professional practice activities in European institution and also thanks to Mrs. Mariana Cosac, European Parliament representative for Visits and Seminars Unit and no less due to the students desire to live an interesting experience that their teachers were keen to provide.

This article was written by Alexandra Cristina Miu and Amalia Cîrstea, students of the masters program EISM, 1st year, University of Bucharest – Faculty of Geography.